I’ve got a bit of a treat for you this week: Chocolate and Raspberry Cake with Ginger Chocolate Mousse. I’m sitting here snacking on the left-overs from that, feeling quite happy with myself as I plot and plan some big changes in my life over the next 12 months.

I’m sure I’m going to get some email about my choice of featured ingredient: Maple syrup; but I feel it’s important to look at ingredients that aren’t necessarily 100% raw sometimes, as they do offer a health benefit, and certainly have a lot to offer in terms of taste.

Chocolate Raspberry Cake with Ginger Chocolate Mousse (raw)

Makes 4 cakes

For the Base:

1/4 Cup Oat Flour*

1/2 Cup Cashew Flour**

2 TB Cacao Powder

2 TB Maple Syrup

1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract

3 TB Water

1 Tsp Lemon Juice

Pinch Salt

1 Small pack of Raspberries for the centre of the cake.

*Oat flour is simply raw oats that have been turned to flour in a coffee grinder or Vita-Mix.

**Cashew flour is made by grinding cashews in a food processor until they turn to crumbs. You don’t need it as fine as the oat flour.

Step 1: In a large bowl: mix all the base ingredients, thoroughly.

Step 2: Place a metal ring***, approximately 7cm wide and at least 5cm tall, on a dehydrator tray and Paraflexx sheet. Dividing the mixture into 4, place one part into the bottom of the metal ring and spread evenly. Repeat this until you have 4 bases.

Step 3: Dehydrate at 115 degrees F, for 2 hours. At this point you should be able to transfer the bases to a dehydrator tray without the Paraflexx sheet; allowing them to dry for a further 8 hours.

*** The metals rings I used can be bought from most cook shops in a variety of sizes.

For the Mousse:

1 Cup Cashews

1/4 Cup Coconut Oil

1/4 Cup Cacao Powder

1/4 Cup + 2 TB Maple Syrup

1/2 Cup Water

1 TB Fresh Ginger

1/2 Tsp Ground Ginger

2 Tsp Tamari/Shoyu

Pinch Salt

Step 1: Blend all mousse ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth and set aside.

Step 2: Take your bases and place the metal ring back over one of them. I like to line the inside of the ring with non-stick paper; I find this aids in the removal of the ring at the end.

Step 3: Arrange some raspberries at the bottom of the ring, covering the whole of the base. You can then cover them with one quarter of the mousse.

Step 4: Repeat this with the other bases. This can be done using another 3 metal rings; or you can leave the cake you have just done in the freezer for a few minutes, by which time it will be firm enough to remove the metal ring.

For the Decoration (optional):

1/2 Cup Raspberries

1 TB Maple Syrup

1 Tsp Lemon Juice

You can decorate the cakes however you like, but for the decoration in the picture I blended all the decoration ingredients, and used a spoon to drizzle that mixture onto a Paraflexx sheet. I then dehydrated it for 24 hours at 115 degrees F on the sheet, and a further 24 hours without, until crispy. (Instead of doing that, to save time, you can just top with more raspberries and a dusting of cacao powder.)